THE PRESSURE is on for the transport industry to fill vital skills gaps. This year the training authority for the sector is spending R189 million in the training of 14 000 people. They range from high level professionals and technicians to workers needing training in basic numeracy and literacy. Working from a survey of 628 employers representing 80% in an industry of 400 000 people, the Transport Education and Training Authority (TETA) last week provided a breakdown of the dozens of work categories and the numbers most needed by the industry. The 11 725 people being trained range across the entire spectrum from corporate general managers at the higher level to aircraft maintenance engineers, security officers and labourers. TETA chief executive Dr Piet Bothma, says that the R189m will be used to train 2 962 people in ‘scarce skills’ jobs and 10 984 who are already in the work environment in ‘critical skills’ areas. The TETA budget for 2006/7 is set at R193m. ‘Scarce skills’ are described as occupations where there are insufficient skilled people to meet the labour demand and ‘critical skills’ as areas where there are shortages in specific occupation categories. Dr Bothma was speaking in Johannesburg at the first of a series of national workshops hosted by the Teta focusing on the skills policies of the Accelerated Shared Growth Initiative – South Africa (ASGISA) and the Join-Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA). He said applications for discretionary grants for training were due by July 30. These are paid by the TETA to companies with express needs in scarce and critical skills areas.
